Practical Matters
by Angelo'sG-Ma
Summary: Follow up to 36 hours. It is time for our fav. duo to go back to work, but there are rules
1. Time for Work

Here is the follow up to 36 Hours. It is time for our fav. duo to go back to work but there are rules

Still don't own anything but my imagination

* * *

Monday mornings always seem to roll around. Bobby and Alex had had an extordianary weekend. They finally admitted to each other that the loved the other and soon became engaged late Saturday morning. The rest of Saturday and all Sunday they spent making up for all those wasted years. Now though, as it always does, Monday morning has arrived and the must leave their little nest and get back to work.

"Bobby" Alex stated as she came out of the bathroom after doing her hair. "I think we have a problem."

"What's that?"

"Well, we have both been caught up in the excitement and…"

"That's an understatement Luv." Bobby interrupted. Hearing the endearment made Alex feel just like she did every other time he had said it this past weekend, ready to cry from pure happiness and love.

"Yeah…You know what I mean though. We are on our way to work"

"And?"

"Work, a place where there are rules and regulations about partners being as close as we have gotten" Alex said.

"I'd like to be a whole lot closer right at this moment" Bobby said as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. As much as she hated to do it, Alex put her hands on his chest and pushed away breaking the kiss. "Awe!" he complained.

"Will you be serious please?" She begged.

"Oh Luv, I was very serious."

"Bobby" Alex exclaimed in sheer frustration.

"Ok… Ok… If you insist"

Alex grinned at his boyish expression. She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had seen him look this happy and carefree. Certainly it has been years if ever. "Yes I insist. Seriously Bobby, the regulations say that they will have to reassign us or at least change our partners if they find out about us." She walked over and plopped down on the side of the bed worried about that possibility.

Bobby's sharp mind for details that often dug out a critical piece of information that would crack a case heard all of what Alex said but zeroed in on one word. **IF**

"Don't you mean when, not if?" he asked. "Or are you changing your mind now that we have to rejoin the real world?" Bobby's good mood evaporated fast and he started pacing the bedroom. He should have known, he thought. If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is, and having her for his own just seemed too good to be true.

"What do you mean change my mind?" She croaked. Where had this come from she thought?

"It's ok Eames, working with the squads whack job is one thing but, having everyone know you were more personally involved with the whack job? I understand"

When she heard Eames come out of his mouth instead of Alex or her new favorite, Luv, Alex knew he was distancing himself from her again. Her mind raced back over the conversation and realized that he had misunderstood her and thought she was trying to back out of everything. Not that she blamed him. Everyone else that ever claimed to love him left him one way or another. Bobby had probably just been waiting for her to do it to. Well he was wrong. Jumping up off the bed she stopped him and his pacing took him right in front of her. She maneuvered him over to the bed and pushed him so that he was sitting in the spot she had just vacated, so she could look him in the eye.

"Bobby, I haven't changed by mind about any of it" she said as she stepped between his legs and laid her hands on his shoulders.

"You haven't?" he asked.

"No" She said emphatically "I Love You. Nothing is ever going to change that, but just listen to me for a minute. What I was trying to get across is that, we need to decide how to handle it at work. Do you really want a different partner on the job now that we are together off the job? Some people thing being together 24-7-365 is too much."

"Luv, I could never get too much of you, and no I don't want another partner." Bobby said as he pulled her into his arms. "I do see your point though. So how about this, for now, just until we figure it out, we act like nothing has changed."

"But only on the job" Alex injected.

"Naturally, so as I was saying on the job its Eames and Goren and off the clock it's Alex and Bobby"

"Works for me, just until we figure out how to have our cake and eat it too.


	2. coworkers

They held hands in the car on the way to work and didn't let go until Bobby shut the car off. "You know, we probably should have brought two cars to work" Bobby said.

"Maybe. I hope we figure this out soon. The phrase "Oh what a tangled web we weave" keeps coming to mind." Alex replied.

"I love you"

"I love you too, now let's go to work Goren"

When they entered the building they ran into Logan getting off the elevator. "Hey Mike," Bobby said "you change your mind and decide to come back?"

"Nah, the brass just screwed up the paperwork and I had to come in and straiten it out." Alex's cell rang and she saw that it was her sister's number on the readout. She stepped aside to take the call without interrupting the guy's conversation.

"Hey sis" she said when she answered "What's up?"

"Now Alex, I don't want you to think that I was spying on you or anything, but I was a strange car outside you place every time I drove by this weekend."

"Well, my partner stopped by a couple of times, you remember I told you that his brother died"

"Yeah but come on Alex, it never moved form Saturday to this morning"

"You always were a nosey sister."

"But you love me anyways, so come on do you and Detective Hottie Goren have a Scarecrow and Mrs. King thing going on?"

"Scarecrow was a spy and Mrs. King was a civilian."

"Come on Alex, are you and Bobby doing the horizontal mamba or not. A sister has the right to know."

"A sister also has the right to remain silent, which I am going to do for now. I have to go or I will be late for shift." Alex sighed and hung up as she rejoined Mike and Bobby.

"Case?" Bobby inquired.

"No, my sister, it was good to see you Mike, but we better get upstairs before Ross notices we're not there."

"Right, see you guys again sometime, if you ever need anything call." Mike said turning to leave.

Bobby noticed that Alex seemed a little upset after her phone call but waited until they were in the elevator to ask her about it. "Everything ok with your sister and your family?"

"Actually, I didn't get a chance to find out, she had something else on her mind other than family business."

"Well whatever it was she obviously upset you, do you want to tell me what it was about?' Bobby asked.

"Cake!" Alex said as she strode out of the elevator on their floor of 1PP.

Bobby followed her out but decided not to comment further. It was obviously a conversation best left until a more private time. Captain Ross had just finished talking to Wheeler and her new partner when he turned and saw them. He approached them just as they reached their desks.

"Morning detectives"

"Morning captain" they both said at the same time.

"Goren, I thought you were going to take a few days?" The captain asked.

"I took what I needed captain. What I need no is work and the normalcy of routine or at least as normal and our routine gets."

"OK if you sure." Ross said and gave Eames a meaningful glance.

"I wonder what that look meant." Bobby said after the captain was back in his office.

"My guess would be what it always means, Keep and eye on him." Alex smiled as she answered him.

"Gee Eames that could be hard work, you might have to put in overtime" He laughed and he sat down at his desk.

"Well, overtimes ok when you don't have a life, but, you see Goren there is this new guy I have been seeing lately and I was thinking about baking a cake tonight." They were both chuckling when Captain Ross walked up and handed them a piece of paper with an address.

"Double homicide" Ross stated.

"Let's go Goren" Alex replied.

"Right behind you Eames."

"Something else Detective?" The Captain asked.

"I just wanted to thank you for the time off."

"Not a problem, I just hope you didn't come back too soon."

"Don't worry Captain, I'm sure Eames will keep and eye on me." Bobby chuckled all the way to the elevator where Alex was waiting for him.


	3. In the field

Once they were in their city issue SUV, Alex gave Bobby the address in the upper west side. Bobby reached over with his free hand to take hold of Alex's hand but she pulled it away.

"Hey what's up?" He asked.

"This is an official vehicle Goren, so we probably shouldn't do that." She said, emphasizing his last name.

"Since there is no suspect or other passengers in the vehicle, whose to know Eames?" He didn't press the issue further though. Bobby knew that this was just one of the many things they would have to figure out. "So your sister wanted to talk about cake?"

"She noticed a strange car parked outside of my place all weekend."

"AHH" he said "And being a typical sister, just had to call and push your buttons over it?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Traffic wasn't bad, so they pulled up to the crime scene a short time later. It seemed that a well known doctor and his wife had been killed during a burglary. While Bobby was doing his thing with the body, Alex took the statement of the housekeeper that had found them. With the housekeepers help, they determined that although it was made to look like a burglary gone bad, nothing of any financial value was missing. They spent the next couple of hours canvassing the building, but nobody saw anything or heard anything. By the time they were headed by to the office it was past lunch.

"Do you want to stop somewhere or get something from the cafeteria when we get back?" Bobby asked.

"Let's stop somewhere, if you someplace good on the way" she replied.

"Actually, I think I know the perfect place."

Alex called dispatch and put them on lunch break. She had to admit once they were seated that he did indeed know the perfect place. The tables were small round booths in little alcoves that offered a lot of privacy.

"So come here often, big guy?" Alex joked.

"Not as much as I will be in the future." He laughed

Bobby slid over closer to her and read off the menu she was holding. With his arm draped around her shoulders, Alex leaned into his side. Once they had his food, Alex went back to their earlier conversation about the phone call with her sister.

"Did you ever watch the TV show, Scarecrow and Mrs. King?" She asked Bobby.

"Doesn't ring a bell, why?"

"Well my sister asked if we had that kind of thing going on."

"What exactly is that kind of thing?" Bobby asked.

Alex proceeded to tell Bobby the overall premise of the show and about their secret marriage in the final season. Bobby thought that over for a couple of minutes. In truth it all seemed rather implausible to him, but the last part, could that be their only option?

"Well, for starters Alex, we are both police officers not a spy and a civilian."

"Believe me Bobby, I made that exact point to my sister."

"Do you want to consider the secret marriage part though?" he asked, not sure whether he wanted her to say yes or no.

"Absolutely not" Alex replied quickly. "Do you realize the complications involved? We would have to pretend to be living two completely separate lives and maintain two household, and we would have to lie to my family and to your friend Lewis."

"Your right Luv, that wouldn't be practical."

"Practical?" Alex asked astonished. "Bobby, all of that is minor compared to the big picture."

"Big Picture?"

"Yeah, come on Bobby, the big picture, as in: you, me, and us. I don't want to hide our relationship. I want all of our friends and family to know that I got the greatest guy in the world."

"Just the world?" He asked jokingly. Inside, his heart was bursting with love.

"The only thing bigger than the world would be the universe and then God is the greatest."

"Hmm. Second only to God? I guess I can live with that" Bobby said as he leaned over to kiss her.

As they were paying the bill, Bobby had an idea. "I know" he said. "Lets invite Captain Deakins and his wife over for dinner, and we can ask for his advice."

"That's a good idea Bobby" she replied. "Since he is retired, he can't bust us and besides even when he was out boss, he was still a good friend to both of us. Now before we go back to being Eames and Goren, come here." Alex pulled him to her by the front of his coat and reached up to kiss him. "I love you Bobby" she murmured against his mouth.

"I love you too Alex."


	4. Dinner

Don't own anything but my imaginaton.

* * *

Alex had called their old Captain later that evening. "Hi Captain, its Eames."

"Alex, it's good to hear from you, but how many times do I have to tell you to call me Jimmy now."

"I don't know sir, but most likely a few more times at least."

"Hey, how is your partner doing with everything that happened last week?"

"He had a rough few days" and nights she thought to herself. "But he is getting better. In fact that is part of the reason I called. I am planning a small dinner party. I thought that intermingling and socializing would be good for Bobby, and I was hoping you and your wife would come."

"Sure, sounds good, just tell me when."

"Friday night? Say about 7:00?"

"Ok, we'll be there and tell Bobby that we're thinking of him in the meantime."

"Will do Captain" Alex said then hung up the phone. Turning she said to Bobby, "it's all set, Friday, 7:00."

"Great, now about that mingling and socializing" he said as he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom.

Friday night

Bobby came up behind Alex and hugged her. "The tables all set, what's next?" he asked as he nibbled on her neck. Alex tipped her head to give him better access just as the door bell rang. Sighing, she said, "Next we answer the door." Bobby went to turn on some music as Alex opened the door.

"Come on in Captain, Angie" she said, gesturing them in. Deakins handed her a bottle of wine. "Thank you, dinner will be ready in about 20 minutes."

"Bobby here yet?" Deakins asked as they followed her into the living room.

"Right here Captain" he said as he came out of the kitchen caring a plate of ourdurves. "Hi Angie, it's good to see you."

"You too Bobby" Angie replied. "How are you doing?"

"I'm getting there" he replied.

Shortly they were all at the table eating and enjoying the food and the wine the Captain had brought.

"Gee, Alex" Deakins said. "When you said small party, you meant small."

"Well actually" she started.

"We need some advice" Bobby said for her.

"Really?" Deakins said. "Advice about what?" He thought he had a pretty good idea about what. Alex reached over under the table and took hold of Bobby's hand.

"From a command stand point, what would you have done if two of your detectives had told you they were in love and wanted to get married?"

"Oh this is so sweet" Angie exclaimed. "Didn't I tell you they would make a good couple Jimmy?"

"Angie honey, they didn't say they were talking about themselves. But to answer Alex's question, it would depend of if these two detectives were partners or just working in the same squad." Deakins said, though he was sure he knew the answer. He had decided to enjoy this and drag it out a bit.

"Let's say for the sake of argument "Bobby said. "We are talking about partners."

"Theoretically, by the book, the partners would have to be reassigned new partners or one of them transferred out of the squad."

"Theoretically?" Alex said.

"You see," Deakins said, "That level of relationship can be a double edged sword for partners. Their ability to work well together can increase, however, a fight at home can become a fight on the job and decrease working well together. There is also the issue of protectiveness. Would the husband/boyfriend let the wife/girlfriend take a risk that he otherwise have no problem letting a partner take?"

"Jimmy," Angie complained, "Your tormenting them."

"No, that is ok Angie," Bobby said. "The Captain has some good points."

"Captain?" Alex asked. "What if these partners had been in love for years without it causing any of the issues mentioned?""Alex, theoretically, would these partners have been hiding a relationship from their Captain for years?"

"No, sir, just each other"

"Jimmy!"

* * *

"Ok honey," Deakins relented. "Look you two. I saw this coming years ago, and I took care of it. Bobby, before Alex, you went through partners like a kid goes through candy. The last thing the department wants is to try and find you another partner that will work with you long term?"

"How exactly did you take care of it Captain?" Bobby asked.

"Well, when it became obvious to me that eventually you two would figure out that you were each the best thing to happen to the other, I went the brass. I had a meeting with the Chief of D's and the Commissioner and there is now a letter of preapproval in both of your files to keep your partnership intact in this event. I also talked to Ross before I left so he is aware of it and won't give you any trouble except to tell you to keep it professional at work. So you should tell him first thing Monday.

"Well ok then" Alex said "who would like cake for dessert?"

FIN


End file.
